Vegan Peppermint Black Bean Brownies

Happy (almost) Christmas week! I feel we’ve nearly reached the pinnacle of holiday spirit. For me, it peaks around the 20th and by Christmas Eve I’ve calmed back down to normal person emotions. But until then, I will buy gifts and wrap presents and bake Christmas-y treats like these 1-bowl fudgy peppermint brownies like a mad woman. They’re so good you’d never guess they were vegan, gluten-free, and loaded with good-for-you nutrients. Yipeee!

The batter is so simple. It all happens in ONE BOWL – your food processor! This ensures the the black beans are completely pulverized and undetectable in the finished product.

Look at that fudgy goodness. It’s honestly so good you could just eat it straight, which I have a number of times. Because there’s no eggs, no regret. It’s science.

Baking these guys in a muffin tin allows every brownie to achieve that perfect, slightly-firm edge and ooey-gooey center. But, I’ve had plenty of people bake these in pans with similar success. So really, it’s your call! I just prefer the bites because I like miniature things. There, I said it.

These brownies get their peppermint two ways:

1) Peppermint extract inside the brownies, and
2) A dusting of crushed candy canes on top.

Chocolate and mint are kind of meant to be together, and these brownies only solidify that fact.

These really are the perfect, healthier GF and V dessert for all your holiday gatherings this coming week (and even New Year’s parties!). They are super moist and fudgy in the center, firm but not too crisp on the edges, and loaded with intense chocolate flavor from both cocoa powder and chocolate chips.

You and your friends will LOVE these brownies. Trust me. I took these down to the staff in our new apartment building and I believe the phrase “inhaled them” was the word most used when I returned later to drop off more treats. Total win (and no black beans detected). Score and score.

And if you happen to have some on hand, coconut whipped cream makes thee BEST frosting for these little guys! Enjoy!

If the batter appears too thick, add 1-2 Tbsp water or almond milk and pulse again. It should be slightly less thick than chocolate frosting but nowhere close to runny.

Add in peppermint extract a little at a time, pulse, sample and adjust until it's to your liking. I liked 1/4 tsp (as original recipe is written). Then stir in chocolate chips.

Evenly distribute the batter into the muffin tin and smooth the tops with a spoon or your finger.

Bake for 21-26 minutes or until the tops are dry and the edges start to pull away from the sides. I found mine took about 25.

Remove from oven and let cool for 20-30 minutes before removing from pan. They will be tender, so remove gently with a butter knife or fork. The insides are meant to be very fudgy, so don’t be concerned if they seem too moist – that’s the point. Plus, they’re vegan so it doesn’t really matter anyway.

Dust with crushed candy cane and serve immediately. Topping them with coconut whipped cream makes them ultra decadent and pairs perfectly with the chocolate-mint flavor.

Store in an airtight container for up to a few days. Refrigerate to keep longer.

Notes

*Heavily adapted from my V GF Black Bean Brownies*You can bake these in an 8x8, just extend the baking time to between 25-30 minutes. 27 should be your sweet spot.*Prep/cook time does not include cooling time.*Nutrition information is a rough estimate.

What brand of black beans do you use? I use the trader joes one and when I make the brownies, I sort of taste the beans in it. I can’t wait to make this, peppermint is so festive! I love your blog so so much, always checking in a couple times a week :)

These are fantastic! Got bored tonight and had the ingredients in my cabinet, and I just had to try them out! I subbed half of the black beans for garbanzo beans, and I ended up making two batches because my muffin tin is pretty big. They turned out so fudgy and so yummy, I can’t wait to share these with the fam for Memorial Day!

I made these as an after school snack for my 3 and 5 year olds because I wanted something they would like with some protein in it. The kids *loved* them. Later my husband tried them and asked what was in them.

Oh. So. Delicious.
I’ve made these brownies multiple times and have loved them every time. So fudgey, so chocolatey, so minty. . . ah, black bean brownie perfection. I used dark chocolate cocoa powder and the intense chocolate flavor was so good. And as I didn’t have any candy canes, I crushed up some Ghirardelli dark chocolate-peppermint bark squares for the topping — fantastic! This is now my go-to recipe for brownies.
Keep up the awesome work! Love your blog!

Oh my goodness! I made these for my youngest son who is allergic to dairy and eggs since the rest of us will be having “normal” chocolate cake tomorrow and I wanted to make sure he had something tasty as well. These were SO GOOD!!!! I couldn’t detect the black beans at all (and believe me I tried)! Seriously SO good! Everyone needs to try these because they are amazing!!!! My baby will be lucky if he gets any of these tomorrow because I can’t stop eating them!

2nd time making these… they are too good!
I used maple syrup (1/2 cup) in the place of sugar and about a 1/4 cup of apple sauce in the place of oil. Worked just great!! Thank you for this amazing recipe…its definitely one I will keep in rotation!

Good News! After letting them set; putting them in the refrigerator overnight; they have a great appearance & spell much better. I will not use bananas next batch though; or maybe just one; maybe just a half. But I am going to try the cupcake method; much funner & easier to eat.

So my food processor has arrived and THIS is going to be the inaugural recipe! We are so excited!! Of course Christmas is long over so we haven’t any candy canes but we don’t care ~ peppermint black bean brownies & coconut cream are happening. NOW. Right now.

Holy yum! I made these yesterday afternoon for a Christmas party and they honestly came out SO WELL. Like, I’ve never made a black bean dessert and no offense to any black bean dessert recipes, did not expect these to turn out as heavenly as they did. I think I gave ’em 24ish minutes. A little crumbly on the outside yet dense and fudgy on the inside! Putting them in muffin tins was genius. I waited until everyone at the party had grabbed one and tasted them before telling anyone they were vegan brownies. Everyone was literally so impressed…and then I told them the main ingredient and they were doubly shocked. This one woman went on about how amazed she was for the entire rest of the party! Seriously, thanks so much for this recipe. With all natural ingredients, I felt great serving these to friends!

Ha! This makes me so happy. I did the same thing to my apartment office staff. I didn’t tell them until afterwards that they were vegan, GF and made with black beans. Quite a shocker, eh? Glad you all enjoyed them so much, Robin! Thanks for sharing your experience.